Steve Sweeney

TRENTON — Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney today unveiled a comprehensive package of reforms designed to responsibly deal with the issue of health benefits for public workers. The reforms will result in hundreds of millions of dollars in savings a year for local governments, allow mayors and other local elected officials to help rein in ever increasing property taxes, and provide a fair way to implement increased costs on middle and lower income public workers.

“Health benefits are a major factor in what drives up property taxes and this plan will finally do something about it,” said Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem). “We cannot continue with band aid measures for issues that deserve real solutions. It is time for action, not sound bites and meaningless political rhetoric that resolve nothing. Government must be run like a business, and this reform package is a major step in that direction.”

TRENTON: Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem) issued the following statement today regarding the formation by community leaders and organizations of the Latino Voter Mobilization Campaign. The Campaign is aimed at increasing Latino voter participation in New Jersey.

“We should encourage any effort by residents of New Jersey to become more involved in their government and the political system. This is especially true in the Latino community, which, as the new Census data has told us, is the largest minority community in New Jersey.

TRENTON – Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem) and Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex, Passaic) today released 2010 census data that will be used to shape the legislative redistricting process over the coming months.

“Now that the census data is available, we must move forward with a redistricting process that is fair, open and has as much feedback from the public as possible,” said Sweeney. “A completely open process is one in which all the players are known, transparency is the norm — not the exception — and which places absolute fairness above all else. The best interests of New Jersey can only be served by a map that ensures diversity and equal opportunities for all residents to serve in every district.”